Thursday, April 13, 2006

I thought I'd be writing this yesterday, but yeah, you've seen how it goes.

I'm now finally home. Thanks to Neema and Sepideh's help, I made the first flight to San Jose this morning, dumped my stuff at my parents' place, and made it in for work.

Typically, I'd be bummed after a trip like this is over, but after the last couple of days of stress, it actually felt really damn good to be back in the office. I was running on just a few hours of sleep, but I sat at my desk wearing a broad grin, both from having had an excellent vacation, and knowing the crappy part of it was all over and done with.

While the end of this chapter of my travels has left a seriously bad taste in my mouth, I just need to think of better tastes. Like the all the fresh beer, delicious food, and fresh air. I need only to think of the 13 better days that outweigh the 2 bad.

I saw my favorite band, front row, at Wembley. I saw another favorite band at the Royal f'in Albert Hall. I danced my ass off in the biggest club in Central Europe. I drank beer from the original recipes that were created before my country was even conceived. I walked a town that has barely changed since the 1300's. I spent quality time with good friends, all the while making new friends.

Screw my wallet and screw the airlines and screw the drama. At this point, I don't want to see another airport lounge, airplane seat, check-in agent, or shuttle bus driver for a long, long time. To them I say na schledanaou.

But I'm sure I'll run into them all again soon. The travel bug is always hungry, and you never know when it's going to bite.